We fight. We write. A blog to help authors continue on their journey.

My Biggest Resolution for 2015: Get Pissed

Most people want to find calm and resolve in their New Year’s resolutions. Join a gym, lose some weight, write more, learn guitar, there are all the clichés. Not many people would openly state that for the new year, they want to get pissed. But I am one of those people, and here’s why.

2014, from a personal standpoint, was one of the best years of my life, possibly THE best. My wife told me this year she compared this year to the year we got married. We welcomed our second daughter. Our first daughter is learning new words every day and starting the hilarious, but scary, act of practicing crying in the mirror. No doubt she’ll use that for future meltdowns. My current position as a Broadcast & Digital Producer at Vladimir Jones, the full-service ad agency here in Denver, is going swimmingly.

However, from a writing standpoint, it was mediocre. I’ve submitted my first novel, but haven’t been aggressive enough. I’ve received incredible raise in my blog and website visits, but my posting has been inconsistent. In fact, my statistics are great. There are fellow authors who are working as a writer full time, and even bestselling authors, who have less social media presence and site visitation than I do.

I’m very grateful that my visitation and social media is doing so well. But my sites are lacking one thing that my friends and fellow writers possess: actionable product availability. And by that, I mean they have books that consumers can buy. The fact that I don’t is on me: 100 percent. I’ve “made plans” a number of times. But here I am, two years into a five-year plan and am terribly behind. I’ve had my first book written for the better part of two years and nothing to show for it, as I haven’t taken the proper initiative. Sure, there are unforeseeable obstacles. But the fact of the matter is I’ve made some missteps in 2014, and I’m pissed off about it.

My frustration isn’t in a regretful manner. My life is frenetic as hell and I often work from about 9 p.m. until I crash. That’s after working a full day, coming home, getting everyone fed and asleep. Most people would consider that a complete day.

I’m pissed because I’m not content with that. My daughter’s have to see that they can accomplish their dreams. It will mean nothing if I tell them “I gave it a shot, kind of flubbed it. You can do better though.” Not good enough, I want them to outdo me. I want them to see that I’ve accomplished what I set out to do, and they will know that they can do better.

I’m pissed because I’m ready. I spent a long time on this book, and am ready to move along to another project.

I’m pissed because I’m seeing other friends and authors who are succeeding. I’m ready to be among them. It’s time. So I’m getting pissed in 2015 so that way I can look back at an amazing, fulfilling year in which my personal life is as fantastic as my professional writing career.

So now, in the words of Bruno Mars, don’t believe me just watch because 2015 is going to be an awesome year and look for some great stuff from me.

Comments? Questions? The conversation’s always live on Twitter @ThomasAFowler, use the hash-tag #WritersConquest. As always, keep checking my official website for the latest updates. Thanks so much for taking on the Writer’s Conquest.